Shipping WTF

I got an email this morning from Stamps.com, stating that some guy whose name I didn't recognize had shipped a package to me at my old address.

First thoughts:

Who's that guy?

I didn't order any stamps!

He has my name and (previous) address correct; how did he get it?

I looked it up, and apparently it's not just a site for buying stamps; they also act as a shipping frontend for USPS. So some guy shipped a package to me at my old apartment, ~2000 miles away. But the tracking number didn't validate in USPS's tracker, which means it's not actually shipped yet.

Somehow this guy got both my correct address and my correct email address, though, which strongly suggests it's legitimate. As I was wondering how this might have happened, I thought "maybe it's someone running a project I backed on Kickstarter?" I thought I had updated the address on all my outstanding backer orders, but it's possible I missed one. So I searched my email for the name.

Turns out it wasn't a Kickstarter; this was the name of the contact on a publisher I ordered a book from. Back in December. It's been out since February, but it's been so long that I just sort of forgot about it. So I emailed the guy and asked him if it had shipped yet, since I'm no longer at that address. He said that it hadn't, and I gave him the new address. Just got confirmation that it's been scheduled to ship to the new address now.

But seriously, shipping an order in May when I pre-ordered it in December and you published it in February?

@asdf What happened is that when it was published, they sent me the ebook version on Kindle, so I read the book, and then I forgot that there was a physical copy included in the order.

Also, the bit about having a different address since February? Moving 2000 miles across the country tends to take up a lot of mental energy and attention, so little details like this can get left behind.

TRWTF is that you impulsively buy stuff and then completely forget about it.

I'd never do that! NEVER!!!

Just yesterday I wondered why the PS4 Store wouldn't let me buy a game until I realized it had already been sitting in my library for at least six months.

It's like giving future you a present! I did that with a few humble bundle purchases when other stuff interrupted the expected follow-up so that I forgot about them. Then at the end of February I went looking through my library and found them all

"Those aren't the Tweedle twins," whispered Hatter. "They're Charles and David Koch. They bicker constantly, and they completely own the Republican Party."
The Dormouse and the March Hare began bickering with each other as they vied for the attention of the twins. Meanwhile the twins were bickering with each other over the best candidate to carry the banner for pure laissez-faire capitalism. I looked straight at them as they bickered and tried to start a conversation.
[...]
"Very well! As you wish!" said the Koch brother standing up. He unzipped his pants and whipped out his dispenser.
"You may suck it!" he announced haughtily.

"Those aren't the Tweedle twins," whispered Hatter. "They're Charles and David Koch. They bicker constantly, and they completely own the Republican Party."
The Dormouse and the March Hare began bickering with each other as they vied for the attention of the twins. Meanwhile the twins were bickering with each other over the best candidate to carry the banner for pure laissez-faire capitalism. I looked straight at them as they bickered and tried to start a conversation.
[...]
"Very well! As you wish!" said the Koch brother standing up. He unzipped his pants and whipped out his dispenser.
"You may suck it!" he announced haughtily.

I don't think that really counts. That's just Rule 34, not really a proper .

"Those aren't the Tweedle twins," whispered Hatter. "They're Charles and David Koch. They bicker constantly, and they completely own the Republican Party."
The Dormouse and the March Hare began bickering with each other as they vied for the attention of the twins. Meanwhile the twins were bickering with each other over the best candidate to carry the banner for pure laissez-faire capitalism. I looked straight at them as they bickered and tried to start a conversation.
[...]
"Very well! As you wish!" said the Koch brother standing up. He unzipped his pants and whipped out his dispenser.
"You may suck it!" he announced haughtily.

Gah! I just got another shipping notice email from Stamps.com. And this time, I don't have the shipper's name in my email history!

Unfortunately, the stupid email they send you doesn't say anything useful for cases like this. I have a personal name of the shipper, but not which company he works for. I don't have the address it's being shipped from, nor a description of what's in the package. Any of these things would be helpful in letting me know who it is I need to contact to get them to deliver it to the right place, but noooooooo, apparently Stamps.com never considered that scenario.